HexClock

The Hexadecimal Clock (HexClock) will display the current time and date in both hexadecimal and binary notation. HexClock uses a realtime clock module to keep accurate time with a battery backup in case of lost power.

Setting the clock

The clock has two buttons: Mode and Set. Holding the Mode button for three (3) seconds will put the clock into Setup Mode. Once The LED on the Mode button will light up, the display will blank, and only the "hours" portion of the display will be lit to indicate that you are in setup mode.,

For ease of use when setting the time and date, the clock uses standard decimal notation for time & date. Time is set using a 24-hour clock (i.e., hours are 0-23). When you have completed setting the proper time and exited setup mode the clock will again display time and dates in hex/binary.

To set the hour, press the Set button repeatedly until the correct hour is displayed. Once you have set the correct hour, press the Mode button again and the minutes portion will be displayed. Press the Set button repeatedly until the proper minutes are displayed.

Repeatedy pressing the Mode button will cycle through all the setup modes:

- Hours

- Minutes

- Day

- Month

- Year

(There is no option to set the seconds. When you adjust the minute setting the seconds automatically set to zero).

Continue pressing Mode and Set as described above until all the time and date segments have been properly set. Pressing the Mode button after you set the year will put the clock back into Run mode. The LED on the Mode button will turn off indicating you are in run mode.

HexClock uses American date styles (mm/dd/yy). Euro-style dates (dd/mm/yy) will have to wait for a future update. :-)

Resetting the Clock

To reset the clock back to its original state (0:00:00 1/1/2016) press *both* the Mode and Set buttons for five (5) seconds. After 5 seconds all the pixels on the display will light up in white until you release the buttons. Once both buttons are released the clock will display the starting time/date. use the procedure above ("Setting the Clock") to set the correct time and date.

Parts

These are the major parts used. Incidental parts (terminal blocks, power jacks, connecting cables, etc.) are left to the imagination of the builder.

1 - Arduino Uno

1 - 16x32 LED Matrix (https://www.adafruit.com/products/420)

1 - Adafruit ProtoShield (http://www.adafruit.com/products/2077)

1 - DS3231 RealTime Clock module (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LZCTMJM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s02)

1 - 16mm Illuminated Pushbutton (Mode Button)([http://www.adafruit.com/products/1479)

1 - 16mm Panel Mount Momentary Pushbutton - Black (Set button)

(http://www.adafruit.com/products/1505)

1 - 5V 4A (4000mA) switching power supply - (http://www.adafruit.com/products/1466)

1 - Project Box (7.5" x 4.3" x 2.2") (191mm x 110mm x 57mm) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002BSRIO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

1 - 330 Ohm Resistor

2 - 10kOhm Resistors

1 - 4700 uf Capacitor

Arduino/C++ Code Modules

HexClock.ino - The main HexClock code. Includes setup() and loop() routines, as well as some helper functions which probably should have gone into classes, but I got lazy. ;-)

ButtonMgr.h/ButtonMgr.cpp - Class to handle button presses and dealing with setup mode.

ClockDigit.h/ClockDigit.cpp - Class to manage the display of digits/characters on the LED display.

LEDMatrix.h/LEDMatrix.cpp - Class to manage the LED display. Basically a thin wrapper for the Adafruit LED matrix libraries

RTClock.h/RTClock.cpp - Class to manage getting/setting time from the RTC module. A thin wrapper for the DS3231 libraries.

Miscellaneous

Special thanks to adafruit_support_mike for helping me through some of the power supply issues. I probably would have blown up a board or two without his help.

ToDo:

- Adjust the character colors on the panel through Setup mode

- Adjust the brightness of the panel LEDs (not sure of this is possible with these matrix boards)

- Display Euro-style dates (dd/mm/yy)

- Better comments in code

Photos

The source files, schematics, and supporting documents can be found on GitHub.